Northern Macedonia: Former Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski on US ‘blacklist’

The US State Department has blacklisted former Macedonian Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski, calling him responsible for a series of “serious corruption cases in the country” that “undermine the rule of law and undermine stability and stability in the country.” region of the Western Balkans “.

The State Department imposed similar sanctions on both former Macedonian Northern Intelligence Service chief Saso Mijalkov (Nikola Gruevski’s first cousin, convicted at first instance for a series of crimes) and a European Union official. Gordanaj Tadic (Bosnian Serb).

According to State Department spokesman Ned Price, “their actions undermined the rule of law, democratic institutions and public order in both countries and reduced public confidence in their governments.”

The State Department recently imposed similar sanctions on Bosnia and Herzegovina’s collective presidency member Milorad Donik (the Bosnian Serb’s pro-Russian leader) and on former Albanian Prime Minister Sal Sal.

Nikola Gruevski escaped in November 2018 in Budapest, where he sought – and received – political asylum from the Hungarian authorities, in order to avoid a two-year prison sentence imposed on him by a Skopje court for corruption.

SOURCE: AMPE